PROCEEDINGS 


OF  THE 


TRUSTEES  OF  DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE, 


JULY  24,  1863, 


UPON  THE  RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  MERRIMACK  COUNTY  CONFERENCE 
OF  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCHES,  IN  REFERENCE  TO  THE 
PRESIDENT  OF  SAID  COLLEGE,  PASSED  AT  THEIR 
SESSION,  JUNE  23  AND  24,  1863. 


/ 


CONCORD : 

PRINTED  BY  McFARLAND  &  JENKS. 

1863. 


THE  UflfMuir 
OF  the 

if  mm 


I 


TRUSTEES  OF  DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE. 


Rev.  NATHAN  LORD,  d.  d.,  President, 

His  Excellency,  JOSEPH  A.  GILMORE,*4 

Ex  Officio , 

Rev.  ZEDEKIAH  S.  BARSTOW,  d.  d., 
LYNDON  A.  MARSH,  Esq., 

Hon.  GEORGE  W.  NESMITH, 

Rev.  NATHANIEL  BOUTON,  d.  d., 

Rev.  SAMUEL  DELANO, 

Hon.  IRA  A.  EASTMAN,  ll.  d., 

Hon.  AMOS  TUCK, 

Hon.  ANTHONY  COLBY* 

IIon.  JOHN  W.  NOYES,  )  * 

Hon.  JOHN  W.  SANBORN, 

Hon.  OLIVER  PILLSBURY,  J-  g  s 
Hon.  CHARLES  H.  EASTMAN,  I  § 

Hon.  LEVI  PARKER,  J  p 

IIon.  ONSLOW  STEARNS,  !- 

President  of  the  Senate. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  E.  CHANDLER, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives , 

Hon.  SAMUEL  D.  BELL, 

Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court, 


Hanover. 

Concord. 

Keene. 

Woodstock ,  Vt. 

Franklin. 

Concord. 

Strafford ,  Vt. 

Concord. 

Exeter. 

New-London. 

Chester. 

Wakefield. 

Henniker. 

Claremont 

Lisbon. 

Concord. 

Concord. 

Manchester. 


VISITORS  OF  THE  CHANDLER  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL. 

JOHN  JAMES  D IX  WELL,  Esq.,  a.  m.,  Boston,  Mass. 

FRANCIS  BROWN  HAYES,  Esq.,  a.  m.,  Boston,  Mass. 


Hon.  DANIEL  BLAISDELL,  Treasurer,  Hanover. 


*  Messrs.  Gilmore  and  Colby  were  absent  from  the  meetings  of  the 
Board,  July,  1863. 


PROCEEDINGS. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege,  held  at  Hanover  on  the  23d  day  of  July,  1863, 
the  following  resolutions  of  the  Merrimack  County 
Conference  of  Congregational  Churches,  unanimously 
adopted  at  their  session  on  the  23d  and  24th  of  June, 
1863,  were  brought  before  the  Board  for  their  ,  con¬ 
sideration  :  — 

Resolved ,  That  the  people  of  Xew-IIampshire  have  the 
strongest  desire  for  the  prosperity  of  Dartmouth  College, 
and  that  they  rejoice  in  the  wide  influence  this  noble 
institution  has  exerted  in  the  cause  of  education  and 
religion. 

Resolved,  That  we  cherish  a  sincere  regard  for  its  vener¬ 
able  President  —  for  the  rare  qualifications  he  possesses 
for  the  high  office  he  has  so  long  and  so  ably  filled ;  but 
that  we  deeply  regret  that  its  welfare  is  greatly  imperiled 
by  the  existence  of  a  popular  prejudice  against  it,  arising 
from  the  publication  and  use  of  some  of  his  peculiar 
views  touching  public  affairs,  thereby,  as  we  believe,  tend¬ 
ing  to  embarrass  our  Government  in  its  present  fearful 
struggle,  and  to  encourage  and  strengthen  the  resistance 
of  its  enemies  in  arms. 

Resolved ,  That,  in  our  opinion,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  College  to  seriously  inquire  whether  its 
interests  do  not  demand  a  change  in  its  Presidency,  and 
to  act  according  to  their  best  judgment  in  the  premises. 


4 


On  motion  that  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  report 
what  action,  if  any,  ought  to  be  taken  thereon,  Hon. 
Amos  Tuck,  Rev.  Nathaniel  Bouton,  d.  d.,  and  Hon.  Ika 
A.  Eastman  were  appointed  such  Committee. 

On  the  24th  of  July  instant,  said  Committee  made 
the  following  Report,  which  was  accepted  and  adopted 
by  the  Trustees : — 

The  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  the  resolu¬ 
tions  of  the  Merrimack  County  Conference,  respecting 
Dartmouth  College,  make  the  following 

REPORT: 

The  Committee  have  taken  into  most  respectful 
consideration  the  action  of  the  Conference,  and  the 
sentiment  pervading  the  Churches,  of  which  the  reso¬ 
lutions  of  the  Conference  are  the  expression.  We  do 
not  forget,  but  thankfully  avow  the  debt  of  gratitude 
which  has  rested  upon  the  College,  throughout  its 
history,  to  the  Churches  of  New-England,  and  to  the 
pious  teachings  and  generous  patronage  of  those  in¬ 
cluded  within  their  embrace.  We  are  fully  aware  of 
the  obligations  of  science  and  literature,  in  all  past 
time,  to  the  clerical  profession;  that  the  countenance 
and  support  of  the  Clergy  and  the  Churches  have  ever 
been  the  chief  reliance  of  this  College,  and  that  we 
can  hope  for  little  prosperity  or  usefulness  to  the  In¬ 
stitution  in  future,  without  meriting  the  confidence 
bestowed  upon  it  in  the  past.  W e  deplore  the  present 


5 


condition  of  the  College,  in  respect  to  the  sentiments 
entertained  toward  it,  as  expressed  in  said  resolutions, 
and  we  profess  our  readiness  to  do  any  act  which  our 
intimate  knowledge  of  its  affairs  and  circumstances 
enable  us  to  judge  practicable  and  beneficial.  Neither 
the  Trustees  nor  the  Faculty  coincide  with  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  College  in  the  views  which  he  has  pub¬ 
lished  touching  slavery  and  the  war,  and  it  has  been 
their  hope  that  the  College  would  not  be  adjudged  a 
partisan  institution  by  reason  of  such  publications.  It 
has  been  our  purpose  that  no  act  of  ours  should  con¬ 
tribute  to  such  an  impression  upon  the  public  mind, 
inviting,  as  we  do,  all  classes  of  our  fellow-citizens 
to  contribute  to  its  support,  and  to  partake  of  its 
privileges. 

It  would  be  impracticable,  if  it  were  wise,  to  em¬ 
body  in  this  report  all  the  reasons  which  induce  us  to 
propose  no  action  by  which  the  removal  of  the  Presi¬ 
dent  from  the  head  of  the  institution  should  be  under¬ 
taken  by  the  Trustees,  and  we  bespeak  with  confidence 
the  favorable  judgment  that  we  act  discreetly,  from 
the  members  of  the  Conference  who  have  expressed 
in  their  resolutions  their  generous  appreciation  of  the 
eminent  ability  and  qualifications  of  the  President  for 
the  position  which  he  occupies. 

Yet  the  Committee  do  not  fail  to  see  that  the  pres¬ 
ent  crisis  in  the  country  is  no  ordinary  conflict  between 
opposing  parties,  but  is  a  struggle  between  the  Gov- 


6 


eminent  on  one  side  and  its  enemies  on  the  other,  and 
that  in  it  are  involved  vital  issues,  not  only  respecting 
science  and  learning,  virtue  and  religion,  but  also 
respecting  all  the  social  and  civil  blessings  growing 
out  of  free  institutions. 

The  Committee  recommend  that  the  Resolutions  of 
the  Merrimack  County  Conference,  this  Report  and 
the  accompanying  Resolutions,  be  published  in  pam¬ 
phlet  form,  and  that  the  Treasurer  be  directed  to  cause 
the  same  to  he  circulated  among  the  members  of  said 
Conference,  and  other  persons,  according  to  his  dis¬ 
cretion.  AMOS  TUCK, 

N.  BOUTON. 

Hanover,  July  24,  1863. 

The  Trustees  of  Dartmouth  College,  impressed  with 
the  magnitude  of  the  crisis  now  existing  in  public 
affairs,  and  with  the  vital  consequences  which  the  issue 
of  current  events  will  bring  to  the  nation  and  the 
world  *  and  considering  that  it  is  the  duty  of  literary 
institutions  and  the  men  who  control  them  to  stand 
in  no  doubtful  position  when  the  Government  of  the 
country  struggles  for  existence,  inscribe  upon  their 
records,  and  promulgate  the  following  resolutions : 

First ,  We  recognize  and  acknowledge  with  grate¬ 
ful  pride  the  heroic  sacrifices  and  valiant  deeds  of 
many  of  the  sons  of  Dartmouth,  in  their  endeavors 
to  defend  and  sustain  the  Government  against  the 


7 


present  wicked  and  remorseless  rebellion;  and  we 
announce  to  the  living,  now  on  the  battle-field,  to  the 
sick  and  the  maimed  in  the  hospitals  and  among  their 
friends,  and  to  the  relatives  of  such  of  them  as  have 
fallen  in  defense  of  their  country,  that  Dartmouth 
College  rejoices  to  do  them  honor,  and  will  inscribe 
their  names  and  their  brave  deeds  upon  her  most 
enduring  records. 

Second ,  We  commend  the  cause  of  our  beloved 
.  country  to  all  the  Alumni  of  this  Institution ;  and  we 
invoke  from  them,  and  pledge  our  own  most  efficient 
and  cordial  support,  and  that  of  Dartmouth  College,  to 
the  Government,  which  is  the  only  power  by  which  the 
rebellion  can  be  subdued.  We  hail  with  joy,  and  with 
^  grateful  acknowledgements  to  the  God  of  our  fathers, 

the  cheering  hope  that  the  dark  cloud  which  has  here¬ 
tofore  obscured  the  vision  and  depressed  the  hearts  of 
patriots  and  statesmen,  in  all  attempts  to  scan  the 
future,  may  in  time  disappear  entirely  from  our  hori¬ 
zon,  and  that  American  slavery,  with  all  its  sin  and 
shame,  and  the  alienations,  jealousies  and  hostilities 
between  the  people  of  different  sections,  of  which  it 
has  been  the  fruitful  source,  may  find  its  merited 
doom  in  consequence  of  the  war  which  it  has  evoked. 

Third ,  The  Trustees  bespeak  for  the  College  in  the 
future  the  same  cordial  support  and  patronage  of  the 
Clergy  and  the  Churches  of  New-England,  as  well  as 
other  friends  of  sound  learning,  which  they  have 


8 


3  01 


12 


105624065 


given  to  it  in  time  past,  reminding  them  of  the  obli¬ 
gations  which  the  cause  of  education,  science  and 
religion  seem  to  lay  upon  them,  to  stand  by  this 
venerable  Institution,  in  evil  report  and  in  good  re¬ 
port,  in  view  of  its  past  history  and  great  service  to 
the  church  and  state,  entertaining  an  abiding  faith 
that  it  will  triumph  over  all  obstacles,  and  go  down  to 
posterity  with  its  powers  of  usefulness  unimpaired. 


[After  the  vote  had  been  taken  by  the  Board  of  Trus¬ 
tees,  adopting  the  foregoing  Report  and  Resolutions,  Dr. 
Lord  resigned  his  position,  both  as  President,  and  one 
of  the  Trustees  of  the  College.] 


